The Oracle

Once upon a time, a wealthy and fortunate couple of farmers were endowed with a son. They cherished this child before he was born, and they wanted him to be happy in life.

As they wanted to prevent that anything bad happened to him, they went to see the Oracle. They gave their workers the order to take care of their farms while they were gone, and they traveled to the city where the Oracle lived. After a few days, they arrived. The Oracle accepted to see them after a few days of begging.

When the Oracle saw the child, he was inspired to say the following:

"This kid will grow up far from the dangerous world out there. He will be loved and educated. It will make him very confident. It will make him strong and valiant. It would make him rule the world. Unfortunately, he never will."

The Oracle breathed heavily.

"When the child is in love for the first time, she will break his heart. He will be so sad and desperate that he will hang himself to the roof and die."

The parents were so afraid of the second part of the story that, when they got back, they cherished him even more. They were very careful to avoid him getting hurt in any way. Whenever he had a paper cut, they dreaded the sight of his blood.

As he grew older, they tried to make him avoid contact with the world. They said it was for his own good. They fired all of their female employees, and they homeschooled him.

One day, the son, now older than a teenager, escaped the vigilance of his parents and went to the nearest town. There, he saw a beautiful girl. She impressed him very much. He went up to her and tried to kiss her. Of course, she rejected him, very shocked. Mortified, he left the place. Little did he know that he was being followed.

Alone in a dark corner of the town, he started crying. There, he was approached by a passerby, who cheered him up. They wandered along the town's streets, exchanging stories from their respective past.

Then, they went to the nearest bar. They danced, they drank, they had fun. The son met another beautiful woman, and she did not reject him. He was happy. They kissed.

Later that night, he was on the road back home when he was abducted. The Oracle was there, with a rope in one hand, and a stool in another. The Oracle forced him on the stool, and hung him to the roof.

The following morning, the parents were horrified to see their son dead, but they were not surprised. They spread the word about how right the Oracle had been all along, and how sad it was that their son, a man of such value, had killed himself.


The future is yours to mold. Don't let others tell you how to live.